Vitamin A deficiency linked to diabetes

Vitamin A plays a an important role in immunity and beta cell development. Type 2 diabetes occurs when insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas no longer function properly. A new study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry looks at a possible connection between the two.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College examined beta cells in two groups of adult mice. One group was genetically engineered so they could not store vitamin A, meanwhile the second group could store vitamin A. The mice that could not store vitamin A had their beta cells die, so they were not able to produce insulin.

Also, when vitamin A was removed from the diets of the healthy mice, it resulted in obvious beta cell reduction, triggering lower insulin production, and higher blood sugar levels. When vitamin A was restored into their diet, the mice regained insulin production and stabilized blood sugar levels as their beta cell production increased.

While more research is required, these initial findings suggest a possible connection between vitamin A consumption and type 2 diabetes. Researchers also believe a synthetic form of vitamin A could potentially reverse the condition, and they plan on testing it in the future.

Couples who work together on health are more successful

It may be easier to accomplish those healthy New Year goals by getting your partner involved. A University College London study found people are more likely to quit smoking, lose weight and exercise when their partner accompanied them. The findings were published in JAMA.

Researchers analyzed the data of 3,700 middle-age or older couple in the UK who were either married or living together. The participants were involved in a long-term study on aging and filled out questionnaires about their health patterns and behavior for up to a four-year period.

Three categories were focused on by the researchers: smoking, exercising, or losing 5 percent of body weight. When one partner decided to make a positive healthy lifestyle change, it influenced the other partner more than if the partner was already healthy.

Partners who maintained a healthy lifestyle from the beginning were more likely to influence their partner’s choices to quit smoking and exercise compared to if the partner was not healthy. However, this did not impact the success of losing body weight.

When one partner was overweight and the other was not, it did not influence weight loss. However, when both partners were overweight and one lost weight, the other partner was three times more likely to be inspired to lose weight.

The study notes it’s unclear why changing together is a greater motivator for couples to make healthy decisions, but researchers suggest implementing behavior-change programs targeted to couples rather than individuals.

Underage drinking tied to TV advertising

There are a plethora of alcohol commercials on TV every day. So do they influence the youth of America? Researchers from Dartmouth recently explored that question in a study whose findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study involved 2,541 participants between the ages of 15 and 23. Participants initially took a telephone or web survey in 2011 involving their memory of TV alcohol advertisements that they saw between 2010 to 2011. Then 1,596 people took a follow-up survey in 2013. If the participants correctly remembered and enjoyed the ad as well as identified the brand, they received an alcohol receptivity score.

These underage people were almost just as likely to see alcohol advertisements as their legal age peers. Overall, 23.4 percent of 15 to 17-year-olds, 22.7 percent of 18 to 20-year-olds and 25.6 percent of 21 to 23-year-olds had viewed alcohol advertisements on TV.

These findings add to previous studies that suggest TV advertisements are a factor in influencing underage drinking. The study noted current TV standards and practices do little to shield youth from exposure to alcohol advertising.